George Harrison Always Said He Wasn’t Going to Make Another Album but Was Never Serious
George Harrison always said he wouldn’t make another album, but he was never serious. He wasn’t fooling himself or his fans.
George Harrison almost stopped releasing albums in the late 1970s
In 1976, George named his newest album Thirty Three & 1/3 after his age. He told the BBC that he didn’t expect to continue in the music industry for much longer. George said he’d retire at 37.
“I suppose back in the 60s I gave myself to about 36,” he said. “So, still got a couple of years, but I think I’ll probably be around 37 or 38 at the moment that I feel and suppose I could stop. But I don’t know, it’s like George Burns once said that the only thing to retire for, the only reason is to do something better and if you enjoy doing what you’re doing… If I hadn’t been a guitar player, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
By the following year, George started disliking what he was doing. George felt the music industry sucked all the creativity out of artists. They cranked out music that sounded the same on a conveyor belt. So, George stopped making tunes. He told Rolling Stone that he didn’t write a single song throughout 1977.
At first, George felt strange doing nothing. Then, he realized he could retire for good. “If you retire or knock off the work, then there’s a while of feeling, ‘Wow, I should be doing something,’ until you slowly mellow out and think, ‘Wow, this is good. I don’t have to be mad all my life, I don’t have to live in the public eye.’
“All of 1977 I never picked up a guitar, never even thought about it. And I didn’t miss it.”
George always said he wasn’t going to make another album, but he was never serious
Eventually, George realized that the music industry wasn’t going to change. However, that didn’t mean he would change for it if he wanted to continue making music, which he did. George wanted to make the music he wanted when he wanted. In between albums, he formed a film production company, HandMade Films, and took time to raise his son, Dhani.
During an interview with Warner Bros. in 1987, George spoke about why there were five years between 1982’s Gone Troppo and 1987’s Cloud Nine. George said he was mostly waiting to find someone to help him. That person turned out to be Jeff Lynne.
Warner Bros. asked if there was ever a time when he thought, “I’m just not going to do another album,” as much of the press claimed. George said, “No, no. I mean, I say that to people, you know, but I always knew I’d do another album. [Joking] I’m not sure I’ll ever do another now, though.”
George told people he retired to get them to stop bothering him
The “Something” singer told Guitar Player a similar thing. George admitted he’d started telling people he retired just to get them to stop asking him if he was making another album.
“I’d tell that to people–so they wouldn’t bother me [laughs],” George said. “I mean, I’ve got a film company, as well, so we’ve been making some movies. And as I say, I’ve never really stopped writing tunes and putting demos down.”
By 1986, George’s views of the record business mellowed. He would agree to do everything the record companies wanted, music videos and press tours, but he wanted to make the album he wanted, Cloud Nine. George and Lynne recorded good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll.
George told The Journal that he found the “fuss” over his “so-called return somewhat embarrassing,” especially since he hadn’t gone anywhere. It wasn’t like he would ever stop making music, after all, despite what he said.
